"If I had anyone to go with me, I might venture to start for Deadwood."
"I am at your service, Mr. Harding."
The sick man looked at Luke with a puzzled expression.
"You are very kind," he said, after a pause. "What is your name?"
"Luke Larkin."
"And you know Mr. Armstrong?"
"Yes. I am his messenger."
"But how came he to send a boy so far? It is not like him."
Luke laughed.
"No doubt you think him unwise," he said. "The fact was, he took me for lack of a better. Besides, the mission was a confidential one, and he thought he could trust me, young as I am."
"You say you have a message for me?" queried Harding.
"Yes!"
"What is it?"
"First, can I do something for your comfort? Can"t I get you some breakfast?"
"The message first."
"I will give it at once. Do you remember purchasing some government bonds for Mr. Armstrong a short time before you left his employment?"
"Yes. What of them?"
"Have you preserved the numbers of the bonds?" Luke inquired, anxiously.
"Why do you ask?"
"Because Mr. Armstrong has lost his list, and they have been stolen.
Till he learns the numbers, he will stand no chance of identifying or recovering them."
"I am sure I have the numbers. Feel in the pocket of my coat yonder, and you will find a wallet. Take it out and bring it to me."
Luke obeyed directions.
The sick man opened the wallet and began to examine the contents.
Finally he drew out a paper, which he unfolded.
"Here is the list. I was sure I had them."
Luke"s eyes lighted up with exultation.
It was clear that he had succeeded in his mission. He felt that he had justified the confidence which Mr. Armstrong had reposed in him, and that the outlay would prove not to have been wasted.
"May I copy them?" he asked.
"Certainly, since you are the agent of Mr. Armstrong--or you may have the original paper."
"I will copy them, so that if that paper is lost, I may still have the numbers. And now, what can I do for you?"
The resources of Fenton"s Gulch were limited, but Luke succeeded in getting together materials for a breakfast for the sick man. The latter brightened up when he had eaten a sparing meal. It cheered him, also, to find that there was someone to whom he could look for friendly services.
To make my story short, on the second day he felt able to start with Luke for Deadwood, which he reached without any serious effect, except a considerable degree of fatigue.
Arrived at Deadwood, where there were postal facilities, Luke lost no time in writing a letter to Mr. Armstrong, enclosing a list of the stolen bonds. He gave a brief account of the circ.u.mstances under which he had found Mr. Harding, and promised to return as soon as he could get the sick man back to his farm in Minnesota.
When this letter was received, Roland Reed was in the merchant"s office.
"Look at that, Mr. Reed," said Armstrong, triumphantly. "That boy is as smart as lightning. Some people might have thought me a fool for trusting so young a boy, but the result has justified me. Now my course is clear. With the help of these numbers I shall soon be able to trace the theft and convict the guilty party."
CHAPTER x.x.xV
BACK IN GROVETON
Meanwhile, some things occurred in Groveton which require to be chronicled. Since the visit of Tony Denton, and the knowledge that his secret was known, Prince Duncan had changed in manner and appearance. There was an anxious look upon his face, and a haggard look, which led some of his friends to think that his health was affected. Indeed, this was true, for any mental disturbance is likely to affect the body. By way of diverting attention from the cause of this altered appearance, Mr. Duncan began to complain of overwork, and to hint that he might have to travel for his health.
It occurred to him privately that circ.u.mstances might arise which would make it necessary for him to go to Canada for a lengthened period.
With his secret in the possession of such a man as Tony Denton, he could not feel safe. Besides, he suspected the keeper of the billiard-room would not feel satisfied with the thousand-dollar bond he had extorted from him, but would, after awhile, call for more.
In this he was right.
Scarcely a week had elapsed since his first visit, when the servant announced one morning that a man wished to see him.
"Do you know who it is, Mary?" asked the squire.
"Yes, sir. It"s Tony Denton."
Prince Duncan"s face contracted, and his heart sank within him.
He would gladly have refused to see his visitor, but knowing the hold that Tony had upon him, he did not dare offend him.
"You may tell him to come in," he said, with a troubled look.
"What can the master have to do with a man like that?" thought Mary, wondering. "I wouldn"t let him into the house if I was a squire."
Tony Denton entered the room with an a.s.sumption of ease which was very disagreeable to Mr. Duncan.
"I thought I"d call to see you, squire," he said.